The POWER of Naming

Yesterday in my Human Services class, we talked about the power of Naming! Naming things, people, groups, places, items, concepts....everything, is how we understand the world! Without a name and a definition...what is it? What do we call it? It's one thing to name an item, but the name we identify ourselves with and how others name us is where the power lies. My professor posed the question, "If I call you a dummy long enough, what happens?" And the class finishes with the answer, "You began to believe it." The naming of ethnic groups in the past and even present has been a big factor in who holds the power. As blacks were called Negros, or coloreds, and names even before then. Derogatory names. There is power in naming. The term 'Hispanic'...was also decided and named by someone/a group of people. I really began to think about this and apply it to myself.
The professor also gave us an example of her first job. Her boss would always call her Sandy, when her name is Sandra. She was afraid to correct him because she did not want to be rude to authority or possibly loose her job, but she was frustrated as Sandy was not what she wanted to be called. Calling her Sandy was a way of making her seem 'as a little girl,' as opposed to the grown, educated woman that she was." Has anyone ever called you the wrong name constantly? Have you ever had a student call you by your first name, when you wanted to be called Mr./Ms. or Dr./Professor Soandso? Do you think it was on purpose or on accident? How did that make you feel? I hope you understand where I'm going with this.
But to close out, there is this one young gentleman college freshman, bless his heart...and every time He sees me he manages to call me/incorporate the terms into our conversations..."Ghetto and rachet." He likes to tell me "Yasmine, you're ghetto or you're a little rachet." If anyone knows the actual definitions/connotations of these two words and knows me personally knows...I AM FAR FROM EITHER! I am smart, educated, and well-spoken. Every once in a while, in a comfortable, intimate setting my natural slang comes out...THAT'S A PART OF MY CULTURE...THAT DOES NOT MAKE ME GHETTO! Anyways...this did not frustrate me til now. The more someone says something about you the more you will think about it and possibly believe it...while I know this young man has a lot...and I mean A LOT of growing up to do, I will no longer allow him to tell me I am Ghetto or Rachet! I know they say 'It's not what they call you, it's what you answer to'...but how about this 'It's what YOU ALLOW them to call you!" BOOM! lol I AM ME! I am KuntaKente, not Tobi!!!